Mobile wireless communications devices such as cellular telephones, BLACKBERRYS®, personal digital assistants, BLUETOOTH® headsets, and the like have become critical tools for professionals who need to remain connected while away from their offices. These mobile devices are capable of providing a variety of voice and data services which, in essence, create a mobile office by allowing a traveling professional to: answer and place calls remotely; receive and send emails and text messages; exchange files with coworkers or customers; and use applications normally associated with a desktop PC or laptop.
The value these devices provide, and a traveling professional's reliance on them, increases with the amount of contact that must be maintained while away from the office. An example of a profession that commonly requires time away from the office is that of a sales representative. Often a sales representative will be traveling or working in a remote office when the need arises to communicate with clients or customers in various locations. In some situations, it may be that both the sales representative and customer are traveling, and may not be aware of each other's locations.
An important aspect of a sales representative's work is being able to establish rapport with both current and prospective customers. A few minutes spent engaging in informal conversation can help put a customer in a more comfortable state of mind, before focusing on the business at hand. Common topics for informal conversation include the weather, items in the news, or the latest sports scores. Such topics often have significance to a customer if the information relates to their local area. Using informal conversation to build rapport can be especially helpful if a business meeting is being conducted over the phone and the sales representative and the prospective customer have never met face to face. In such a situation, it is beneficial to the sales representative to create a form of “telepresence” with the customer (i.e. allowing the customer to feel as if they are present at the meeting with the sales representative, rather than at their true location).